


Not Alone

by GuineapigQueen



Category: South Park
Genre: Bonding, M/M, Post Mpreg, Pregnancy complications, Premature Babies, Single Parents, Teenage Parents, Twins, parents group, talk of sick babies but its in the past, theyre friends here but I tried to imply that maybe they'd be more than later
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-09
Updated: 2020-01-09
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:42:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21895321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GuineapigQueen/pseuds/GuineapigQueen
Summary: "I keep telling you, I don't want to go" Craig complains as he burps one of his two newborn twin daughters. His mom, thankfully is burping the other. Craig knows he should be nicer to her but two newborns has him at the end of his tether."I know but I'm going to keep pushing you until you do" she says, swaying and patting Daisy's back.or Craig and Tweek bond at a young parents group because they're the only two people with twins.
Relationships: Craig Tucker & Tweek Tweak, Craig Tucker/Tweek Tweak
Comments: 4
Kudos: 35





	Not Alone

**Author's Note:**

> This was just a random idea I had, so in this fic they're mostly just friends, but I'd like to think in the future they'd develop a romantic relationship.

"I keep telling you, I don't want to go" Craig complains as he burps one of his two newborn twin daughters. His mom, thankfully is burping the other. Craig knows he should be nicer to her but two newborns has him at the end of his tether.

"I know but I'm going to keep pushing you until you do" she says, swaying and patting Daisy's back.

"Why?" He asks, he mirrors her actions but with his slightly older daughter Luna. He purposely avoided giving them names that matched when he found out they were twins. He found out their genders before birth too, he couldn't take any more surprises after twins.

"Because" his mom replies, "You need to meet some people in a similar situation to you. That support as a new parent is invaluable, especially as a single one."

"I just… I'm focused on them. I don't want to think about socializing" Craig tries to deflect. He hides behind them sometimes, he knows it.

"You're going if you want me to keep helping you like this" she says, playing her ace. She knows Craig needs her.

"Don't make me" he says in a small voice. 

"I am making you, it's for your own good" she snaps. Probably at the end of her rope too.

"I didn't just have one baby mom, I've got two" he pleads.

"I'm  _ very  _ aware of that" she retorts "what's your point?"

"I don't even know how to take two out, I'm scared they'll just cry and everyone will judge me" he confesses "and I'm… I'm still fat and stuff…"

"You're not fat, you just had two babies nobody is expecting you to pull a Kim Kardashian. And as for handling two, you have to  _ learn.  _ I'm sorry but you need to grow up and learn. I can't be another parent to your children" his mom explains. 

Craig wants to cry, he buries his head against Luna instead.

"It's tough love my baby" his mother sighs "I promise I'm not trying to torture you. You just need to do this."

"They're going to judge me. Everyone judges me" he says sadly.

"This is a group especially for young parents, they won't judge you. But even if they did, you need to get used to it. You decided to have them at your age, it comes with the territory" she says, "I'm sorry honey, but these are the realities of the choices you've made."

"I know" Craig says, voice wobbly "I love them though."

"I know you do, that's why it'll be worth it, even when people judge you" she assures him. 

"I'll go" he says quietly, "but I still need your help, please don't abandon me."

"I will help you" she promises "but I'm not raising your kids for you."

"I'll try to get my confidence up and do more things by myself… I'm just afraid. I want to do everything right for them" Craig replies to her. He hates being so vulnerable but he really needs her. He doesn't like to admit it, but he's barely coping. He's only got two hands and when one baby cries they often set the other off. It's making him feel like a terrible dad, even though he knows realistically that his situation is kind of extreme. 

"You're doing great," she says, smiling at him warmly. Honestly it's exactly what Craig needed to hear. "And you will slowly become more confident and get the hang of having two babies" she promises. He can only hope so. 

They're interrupted by a loud burp from Daisy, who is being held by his mother. 

"Ooh!" She says, turning to Daisy with a small laugh "hello there."

Craig has to laugh too, even at his lowest and worst moments his daughters can always make him laugh.

"Good girl" Craig says, "that was a big one." 

"Has Luna burped yet?" His mom asks him.

"Yeah" Craig admits "I was just enjoying holding her."

"Well, as cute as they are, I think it's probably time to put them to sleep," she suggests. 

Craig has to agree. On the plus side, they look so angelic when they sleep.

—

Craig groans and rolls over as the sound of a crying baby wakes him. He usually does nights himself. His mom has work and he usually just lays one baby on the bed while he feeds the other and deals with the crying. 

He sighs ambling up and out of bed. He's still a little sore from the birth if he's honest. The c-section is healed but it still hurts a little sometimes. It's Daisy crying, which doesn't surprise Craig. Daisy has a very big appetite and little issues feeding. Daisy was always the bigger twin and one who grew best in utero. Now, after some time in the world Luna has caught up but Craig can notice she is harder to feed. Nothing dramatic, Daisy just takes more easier. Daisy usually wants to be fed first and Luna, once she realises that shes missing out, will want hers too. 

He tries his best to scoop up Daisy from her bassinet as quickly as possible. If he can quieten her it might give him a bit more time before Luna wakes up crying too. He shushes her and holds her close while heading downstairs to get her bottle. It's easier to take her so that she and Luna are seperated. Sometimes this strategy works, other times it doesn't. It just depends how sound asleep the other twin is. He makes sure to get a bottle for Luna too. 

He's gotten very good at multitasking since the girls were born. He's had to, two babies have double the needs of just one newborn. He begins feeding Daisy while carrying another bottle for Luna. He carries her back to his bedroom, now that she's quiet, beyond the odd sucking noise. He can't help but yawn widely as he settles back onto the bed. Luna is beginning to whimper in her bassinet but unfortunately she's drawn the short straw. Craig is just going to have to let her cry until Daisy is done. Luckily Daisy is the easier one to feed and Craig knows she'll be done quickly, and probably burp easily too. 

As weird as it sounds, Craig is very used to the sounds of crying babies now. He's not gonna say its pleasant, in fact, it hurts him a lot to just watch his child cry but there's only one of him. He has no real choice. Instead it has become more like a background noise, not one he likes, but reality is what it is. 

Craig turned sixteen years old while he was 24 weeks pregnant. Because he was having twins it felt like much further. He spent most of that Birthday sitting down and resting. Boring, but he wasn't up to much else. 

He'd fallen pregnant unintentionally, it was a combination of bad luck (or good luck, depending on which way you look at it) and carelessness. As far as Craig knows twins don't run in his family and he doesn't think they run in the father's family either. It seems like sheer luck. The babies' father isn't really anyone too special, Craig had thought that maybe he liked him but obviously, when he walked out that really was the end of that. Nothing turns you off a person like being abandoned by them. He didn't know they were twins yet either. Craig is only sad for them, and that they'll miss out on having a second parent. Otherwise, Craig doesn't miss him. Craig carries on.

He got big early, because twins. So everyone knew early, which sucked, but it couldn't be helped. It was very obvious that there was twins on his first scan, two very separate cavities and blobs. Craig's not a doctor but he could sort of tell for himself. The doctor confirmed it of course and predicted that the twins were fraternal. As newborns, they look pretty identical at the moment, but Craig figures they could easily grow to look very different from one another. Even more unlikely is that his twins are identical, but they were also at risk of twin to twin transfusion syndrome. 

After being unsure when to induce, as they had developed twin to twin transfusion, Craig went into labor spontaneously at 30 weeks. His waters just broke suddenly at home and that was it. The labor wasn't able to be stopped and it intensified quickly. The game changer was that Luna was in distress, which is why he ended up having them via c-section. Craig got to hold Daisy, who was born second and was bigger than Luna, for a quick moment. But he didn't get to hold Luna, she wasn't breathing on her own and had to go straight to the NICU. It was simultaneously the best and worst day of Craig's life. Daisy had to go too, but her transfer was less urgent. Both babies had feeding tubes and oxygen when Craig was finally able to go and see them. 

They were already at a lower birth weight than a singleton baby, being twins but they were tiny for 30 weeks too. So they had to be all wrapped up in their incubators, connected to so many machines keeping them alive. Craig was scared they may not make it, but he knew they'd fight. After all the odds of them even being here was so small, Craig believes that he had to have been sent two for a reason. 

He was very lucky, even if he didn't feel like it at the time. They were born early but once they were born they grew well. At first they had to stay on their oxygen and Craig couldn't pick them up or feed them himself. That was horrifying for him, he just kind of stood there, watching and sometimes putting in a hand to touch them. They looked so fragile and sick. Craig barely felt like a parent, more like a helpless lemming. It sucked. 

He actually wasn't able to see them straight away. He was so weak and sick from the difficult labor and c-section. He had to be taken up the next day in a wheelchair. He was in shock that his babies were born, but he could not hold them. 

He cried the first time he got to cuddle them. He got to hold Daisy first, she hit growth milestones a bit quicker than Luna did. She came off oxygen first and transitioned to formula first too. She's younger than Luna by about two minutes, but she did most things first. Luna had always been the smaller, more fragile twin throughout the pregnancy. 

His mom was with him through all of it, thankfully. She held his hand when he was having those intense, sudden contractions. She kept him calm during the emergency c-section and she supported him through the awful experience of seeing his tiny babies in the NICU. He felt incredibly guilty. Why has this happened? Why couldn't he have carried them longer? 36 weeks was his goal. His mom constantly tried to assure him that he'd done nothing wrong and sometimes pregnancy and labor just don't go to plan. Craig thinks he would have fallen apart completely without her. 

His father and sister were a strong support too. But his mother was there through the entire time, even the messiest bits. 

Now, it's like they're completely different babies. They're bordering on chubby and their growth is on par for a full term baby their age. Now they're thriving. Craig can't quite let himself relax though, he doesn't want to leave them or go out or do anything for himself. He doesn't want to leave them even for a minute, he's desperately afraid it'll all go wrong again.

Daisy falls asleep again after her feed. She almost always does once she's burped. Luna is more fussy, which Craig doesn't mind. He likes to see their personalities come out in little bits. He places Daisy back in her bassinet with no issues. She seems to be so milk drunk that she isn't responding to Luna's snuffly cries.

"There there baby girl" Craig whispers as he scoops up Luna, ready to do it all again.

—

Today is the day of the young parents group. Craig can't put it off any longer, even though he's anxious to be taking both girls out into the world alone. His mom is gonna drop him off and pick him up but he's on his own for the rest. As usual Daisy is content, kicking her legs happily on the floor on her play mat and Luna is next to her, fussing. Craig picks her up, he knows she doesn't need anything, she's fed, burped, changed and napped. She's just fussy, sometimes she settles when he puts her next to Daisy, other times she needs him to hold her. 

He keeps chatting to Daisy though, in the hope that she stays happy on the floor. 

He tried to dress kind of presentable, but it's hard. Nothing pre-pregnancy fits and his pregnancy wardrobe mainly consisted of sweats with the maternity band and oversized t-shirts. He was having twins, he just wanted to be comfortable. So he attempted to find something nice to wear but his attempts were foiled early on when Luna puked on him. He's given up, he's just gonna have to go to this meeting frumpy and fat as ever. It's a little disheartening. 

"Are you ready to go?" His mother asks.

"No" he says, "but physically, yes, we're ready." 

"You're finally getting to use the double stroller I bought you" she points out. She insisted on buying that for him, she said that the stroller, and car seats were essential. 

Craig hasn't used it yet because he's been too afraid to take them out. He's doing his best to make sure everything is ready. There's bottles and formula, diapers, cream and wipes in the baby bag. He has changes of clothes for both girls, just in case, burp rags, bibs, change mats… anything he can think of. He also packs some rattles even though they're still a bit too young for them. He's dressed them for the weather, summer is just beginning but it's colorado so he packs jackets and beanies for them anyway. He thinks he may be planning so much as a distraction. 

"C'mon then" his mom encourages "let's get the girls in their car seats."

Craig sighs, he doesn't want to but he supposes that he can't keep them inside wrapped up in cotton wool forever. 

"I've got Luna" he says "can you bring Daisy?"

"Sure thing" she says with a smile, trying to be comforting. 

Craig takes Luna out and gets her strapped into her carseat. Despite them never going out Craig has practiced getting them into the car seats. It's important that they're safe and that he gets it right. His mom joins him straight after to get Daisy in. Luna fusses as Craig straps her in which in turn causes Daisy to fuss. Craig sighs.

"That's the life of the parent of twins" his mom jokes. He  _ knows.  _ God, does he know.

Once the girls are strapped in safely they place the stroller in the trunk and place the baby bag in the back seat with the girls.

"You're all going to be fine" his mother assures him on the drive over. 

"I hope so" he sighs, looking back at his daughters worriedly. 

—

The meeting is just in the community hall. Craig hasn't actually been inside before, he's never been involved in any activities that used the space. His mom is kind enough to help him get the stroller out of the car and set it up. He gets the girls in, despite their wiggling, fairly quickly. After that he is on his own. She gives him a kiss goodbye and drives away. 

The group is a free community run program. There's another group that's for parents of any age but the community also offers a one aimed specifically at younger parents. Craig is still desperately afraid of judgement. He feels he gets judged twice as hard with his twins. Like people think he had two on purpose, or that he's stupid for keeping them. It's frustrating, and it makes him afraid to face even other young parents in a similar situation. 

He enters the hall anyway. There's a table that looks to have hot water to make tea and coffee and some biscuits on the table. There's chairs, as well as some play mats and some strollers parked in random places.

"Hi" a girl says, Craig springs back to earth.

"Hi" Craig replies, "I'm Craig and uh, I'm new."

"I can see" she says with a smile, "I'm Juliet, wow, twins must be so exhausting." 

"Yeah" Craig agrees "I'm just glad they're home and healthy" he admits. 

"Oh we're they premature? Well I guess all twins are a bit premature…" she rambles. Craig wonders if she's a bit nervous meeting a new person too. 

"They were quite premature" Craig replies, "but they're doing great now."

"I can see!" She says happily "wow, you'd never even know. Come in and meet the rest of us, Tweek will be thrilled to meet you. "

"Tweek?" Craig asks, curious. 

"Tweek is the only person here who has twins, well, now apart from you" Juliet explains. 

"Someone else has twins?" Craig's eyes light up. Someone else knows what it's like! He can't believe that he might actually get to meet another young parent in the same situation, in this moment he's excited and is happy his mother pushed him to come here. 

"Yeah, come meet him!" Juliet says and beckons him over. 

The group is mixed, people of different ages and ethnicities and kids of varying ages too but Craig knows who Tweek is straight away. He's the only other person in the room with a double stroller. 

"Tweek!" Juliet says excitedly "someone else has twins!"

"Whoa" Tweek replies "I didn't think I'd meet anyone else with twins in this group."

"This is Craig" Juliet says "sorry, I didn't ask your babies' names?"

"Oh, this is Daisy, and this is Luna" he says with a small smile. 

"Oh adorable names" Juliet says.

"Uh, hi, I'm Tweek" Tweek says from behind his stroller. His kids look older than Craigs, Craig isn't a baby expert (yet) but he thinks no younger than six months. "We have twins in common I guess" he continues. 

"I'll leave you to it" Juliet says with a wink, heading over to another group where her own toddler seems to be playing. 

"I can't believe there's someone else here with twins" Craig says quietly "I… I've felt really alone."

"I know the feeling" Tweek agrees "I'm on my own too" he admits, "so it gets isolating at times."

"Mine were in the NICU" Craig explains "I didn't have a life at all besides sitting by their incubators like an idiot."

"Well, they look well now" Tweek says happily. Craig looks down to check on them. Luna is asleep but Daisy is looking around at her environment, making small coos. 

"They're doing great" Craig replies "how old are your two?"

"They'll be six months next week" Tweek answers. Craig mentally congratulates himself for guessing so close. 

"I heard six months is a nice age" Craig says.

"It is and it isn't. They're really aware of their surroundings now and super interactive with me. I get lots of smiles and cuddles but they're also starting to teethe. Two teething isn't fun" Tweek explains. 

"I'm not looking forward to that" Craig admits, frowning, thinking about the living hell that it must be to have two infants teething. 

"How old are yours?" Tweek changes the subject. 

"Fourteen weeks" Craig replies "they spent the first ten in the NICU."

"Oh, so you've not been home long?" Tweek asks. One of his twins yells out a "gah!" Obviously wanting to be let out of the pram. Tweek has dressed them both in ways that Craig would consider to be gender neutral so he has no idea if they are girls, or boys, or one of each.

"No, this is my first time out with them, they're being really good actually" he admits. Tweek goes to lift the unruly twin from the pram and places them on his hip. 

"Mesmerized by the world around them, maybe?" He says with a smile, bouncing his happy baby. 

"Maybe, can I ask how old you are?" Craig hopes that it isn't rude to ask. 

"Sure, I'm sixteen" Tweek replies, his baby tugs at his hair. Tweek makes a face "ow, don't do that" he chastises.

"Me too, holy shit how scary was it when they told you that you had two babies?" Craig gushes. He doesn't mean to be so intense but he's not had anyone to relate to this entire time. He's a little desperate. 

"Terrifying, I stayed up all night crying thinking  _ I can't have two _ over and over. But, obviously, I came round" Tweek agrees, he seems happy to have someone to talk to as well. 

"Yeah I just sobbed. I thought  _ why me?  _ Which feels so dumb now, after all the drama" Craig sighs. He feels guilty for all the mixed feelings he had, seeing as he could have lost them. 

"It's not dumb, two is scary for a grown up married couple. I don't know about you, but I was sixteen and single" Tweek replies. 

"Me too, actually" he gulps, hating admitting it out loud "I was fifteen when I found out."

"I'm not gonna judge you, this is a place for young parents" Tweek assures him "whatever age. Anyway, mine were in the NICU too, but sounds like they weren't as premature as yours?"

"Mine were ten weeks premature" Craig says "but they were a low birthweight so they couldn't breathe on their own or eat."

"Mine came at 34 weeks because Callum here stopped growing." Tweek says, “this is Ethel” Tweek gestures to the baby on his hip. Craig assumes Callum must be the baby still sitting in the stroller, sucking on his pacifier. 

"Nice names" Craig replies "mine are identical. They had twin to twin transfusion syndrome and Luna wasn’t getting enough nutrients.” 

"That sounds terrifying. They must have done well though. Ethel was only in the NICU a few weeks, Callum needed a little more time" Tweek replies, he has a proud look on his face as he says it. Craig knows the feeling, he's so proud of how much his little ones have grown.

"I don't really know what went wrong with mine. I just went into labor and they couldn't stop it. Luna, my sleepy girl, was in distress so I had a c-section and they were just whisked off…" he explains. He feels a little sad telling the story again. He knows he was never going to get a normal birth with twins, but he'd wanted a better experience than what happened.

"That sounds horrible. For me it was mostly planned. Well I went in and they said that things weren't looking good for Callum's growth and that they wanted to deliver me asap. But I got to just go have a c-section, it wasn't an emergency or anything and once they got the babies out they did okay. They just needed a little help" Tweek tells him. 

"Did you find out their genders?" Craig asks out of curiosity. 

"Nah, I didn't. I was genuinely scared I might lose one and didn't want to get too attached" Tweek admits sadly. Craig can't even entertain that idea. 

"That's awful. I'm so sorry you went through all that worry. I found out with my girls because I was so surprised with twins, I didn't want anymore surprises" Craig replies, he wanted to plan things, even if nothing about the birth went to plan. 

"That's fair enough, god, it's so nice to meet another twin parent. Especially one my age" Tweek says happily.

"I know, I'm so relieved. How do you manage feeds?" He asks. He has to, he wants to know if there's something he could be doing better. 

"I don't. Really one just cries while I feed the other. I've got these seat things for the table that help during the day. Being able to hold their own bottles helps too" Tweek says. Craig feels a bit better knowing Tweek essentially has the same improvisational tactics. 

"That sounds like heaven" Craig sighs "I can't wait until mine can do that."

"Do you mind if I set up a play mat?" Tweek asks him, "we can talk more once mine are occupied."

Craig nods. He finds his own baby bag and searches for his own play mat. His kids are a bit too young to do much other than lie down and look at things but he thinks it would be nice for them. Tweek is doing the same, except he also has a few toys for his babies. Ethel gets straight into playing as Tweek puts her down. Craig gets a good glimpse at his future, soon his own babies will be learning to sit up and roll. Craig is both excited and nervous for that time.

"I'm really glad I met you" Tweek says happily "nobody quite understands what it's like to have twins."

"Me too" Craig replies "I'm glad I came." 

—

Craig continues to attend the group. He hates to admit it, but his mom was totally right. He doesn't feel judged by his peers, and it's a whole new layer of support he thought he'd never have. 

He connects with Tweek the most though. He can't believe how much better it feels to have a friend who knows what it's like to have twins. It's helped his confidence too, having someone else to bounce off. Tweek's babies are older so he's already been through the newborn stages and he can give Craig some great advice. 

He's feeling guilty today, because Luna is feeling unwell. Craig thinks it might be reflux or something, but Daisy is doing just fine. As a result, Craig is giving Luna a lot more attention. He wishes he had another set of hands so that he could give them equal attention. He's fobbed Daisy off to his mom a lot and he feels awful. 

When he finally,  _ finally _ manages to get Luna to sleep he takes her from his mother to give her a feed. She's crying loudly, as she always does when she feels they are taking too long to get her milk. Craig lets a tear fall down his cheek as he hasn't got a free hand to wipe it.

"Why are you crying honey?" His mom asks.

"Because I've barely held her today I've just left her alone, sometimes screaming when you couldn't take her" he says sadly. 

"She's young, she won't remember" his mom tries to assure him. But for Craig, that's not the point. 

"I know but I  _ should  _ be better," he says. He feels a little bit calmer watching her eat. She looks up at him, now content to be in his arms and eating.

"You are doing the best you can, and Daisy has been okay, honestly. She only got upset when she got hungry" his mom replies. 

"I still feel like I've let her down, she deserves my attention" Craig sighs. He cuddles her close, without squeezing her too much of course. 

"You've got her now, and she's happy with you" she comforts. 

"I guess so" Craig sighs "can I put her to sleep in your room in case Luna fusses?"

"Sure" she agrees "it's been a rough day."

"I might hold her for a bit" Craig says "at least while Luna is still sleeping."

"Hold her as long as you want, she's your daughter" his mom says kindly. 

"It still weirds me out that she's mine and I'm in charge. I keep thinking someone is gonna step in and tell me what to do" Craig explains. He knows it's silly but deep down he's still a kid figuring it all out. 

"I'll give you advice, but they're your daughters so you need to make decisions for them," she replies. 

"Yeah, I'm slowly getting better." He smiles down at Daisy, who has almost finished her bottle. 

"You are, this isn't what I'd have chosen for you but I am proud of you" she smiles at him.

"I love them so much that I know it's worth it. I can finish school when they're bigger" she says. He knows she wants that for him, he had intended to keep doing school but when they came so early, he gave up. He felt he had too, they needed him. One day he'll go back, or at least he hopes so. 

"I'll pay for the daycare if you do school, otherwise you need to find a job" his mom promises. That will give him an even bigger reason to finish. Knowing his mom is footing the bill. 

"I need more time to decide, they're still so small" he replies, he definitely can't bear leaving them yet. 

"I know, and I know you're anxious because of how they were born but in a few months you should start thinking about it," she says sternly. 

"When they're bigger" Craig agrees.

"Yeah, sometimes preemies need a little more time" his mom nods. 

"Thanks for helping me though, you could've just kicked me out or something" Craig says sincerely. 

"I wouldn't do that. You're still my child, I know I've been a bit tough with you but that's only because I want you to be taking full responsibility. Otherwise, I am happy to support you" she explains "I just want to do what's best for you."

Daisy begins to whinge, clearly done with her bottle. Craig shifts her to his shoulder to burp her. She complains a little but Craig knows she'll be fine once she burps. 

"I guess I'm just really thankful you gave me this opportunity because without you and dad I would've had to give them up," he says. He knows he could not do this without her.

"I can't imagine that now, they're very much a part of this family" she replies, looking at Daisy and smiling.

"Yeah, they're so perfect" Craig hums. 

After a bit of back patting Daisy burps and settles. Craig cuddles her close and hopes she'll fall asleep in his arms. She looks up at Craig, looking like she's fighting sleep. She gives little milk drunk smiles, closing and opening her eyes periodically. 

"You did that too" his mom says softly "all babies do, but you used to roll your eyes like that."

"Did I have hair like she does?" Craig asks. Both Luna and Daisy have full heads of dark hair, it surprised Craig so much. 

"Yep, you had more" she says, "but you weren't premature." 

"I don't want to" Craig says "but I think I'm going to put her down, can you help me move the bassinet?"

"Sure, you stay there and I'll let you know when I've moved it," she says, getting up to go and move it.

Craig hopes she doesn't wake Luna, but he won't hold it against her if she does. Luna's sore tummy is making her extra fussy so she's sleeping less and waking easier. Normally he'd put them down around the same time but it just couldn't happen today.

It doesn't take long before his mom is back, beckoning him to come put Daisy down. 

Even when Luna is well, Daisy is the better sleeper. Daisy goes down easier and often sleeps sounder. Craig has no idea why, but he won't complain. He puts Daisy down and she seems to be staying asleep but almost as soon as she is down he hears the pained cries of Luna. 

He heads into his bedroom and picks her up, she spits up on him as soon as he does. He sighs, but really he doesn't care. He just wants her feeling better. 

"C'mon then girl" Craig hums, and gets ready to change her diaper. 

With two, there's just no rest.

—

_ Do you wanna go out? _

That was what Tweek had texted him. Craig's answer is both yes and no. He never goes out besides getting baby stuff or the young parents group. Tweek is suggesting something else entirely, an outing with just them and their kids.  _ Four  _ kids, and them and no "adults." Craig uses that term loosely, technically they are the adults. They are responsible for their kids but Craig often still feels like a kid. 

He's scared something will go wrong. At least with the group they are just inside a hall. It's safe and familiar. Craig isn't sure how his girls will cope out in the world. Will they just cry the whole time? Will it be miserable? He doesn't know. 

But he does need to get out of the house. He needs to get more confident taking the girls places. So he says yes, a little reluctantly. 

He likes hanging out with Tweek though, and hanging out with another adult that isn't his mother would be nice.

Tweek suggests a trip to the aquarium, which Craig thinks might be nice. His girls are little but they're beginning to be more aware of their surroundings. He thinks they might like all the fish, he's just nervous of how he will handle them. 

"I know you're nervous" Tweek says as they ride together on the bus. They're In the section for disabled patrons or parents, so there's stroller space. If someone with a wheelchair needs the space they will have to move though.

"Trust me," Tweek continues, "I was the same. I was so scared they might just scream the whole time and I'd get overwhelmed, but it's good for you all to go out" he says.

"It helps you're with me" Craig replies "even though there's four kids between us."

"I wanted someone to socialise with sooo bad when we just came home, especially someone who had been through what I was going through… so I'll be that for you" Tweek says happily. 

Both of Craig's twins are asleep in the stroller, probably lulled by the movement of the bus. He knows it won't last long but he savours it. Tweeks two are awake, Callum is playing with a rattle and Ethel has some toy keys. They're both cooing at one another like nobody else exists. Craig hopes his twins will have the same bond as they grow. 

"Your two love each other" Craig points out "it's adorable."

"I know they're still so young but they really do seem to have that twin bond" Tweek agrees "Ethel cried less once Callum came home."

"Mine are usually happier when they're together but sometimes Luna wants me to hold her. Daisy isn't so clingy" Craig tells him.

"Is Luna younger? Cause Ethel is older, and she's really attached to Callum" Tweek asks.

"Luna's older, but she was the sicker one. Daisy left the NICU first" Craig replies. Stereotypically Daisy acts like the older sibling but technically Luna is older, only by a few minutes though. 

"Oh that's interesting, maybe she's just a clingy baby" Tweek suggests. Craig agrees, personalities are just something you can't predict. 

"Probably, it's just funny because Daisy is much more independent" Craig points out.

"That's my favorite thing about having twins, how different they are. You may not notice if you just had one" Tweek replies. That's true, if Craig had only one baby he might just assume that they are all that clingy.

"That's true, you have nothing to compare it to" he replies. He looks down at his own two, still very much asleep. 

"It's hard but I wouldn't take my twins back for anything" Tweek smiles.

"Definitely" Craig agrees. He can't imagine not having two now. 

"Oh, this is us" Tweek says as the bus pulls up to its next stop.

"Is there somewhere I can feed them?" Craig asks as they delicately get their strollers off the bus. Tweek goes first, Craig tries to copy what he does. Of course his twins wake through this process as Craig isn't exactly smooth. First one cries, then the other.

"I knew they'd want food as soon as they woke" Craig sighs.

"Yeah the aquarium has parents rooms in all their toilets, so there will be a place" Tweek promises "don't panic okay?" 

"I'm trying I just… I hate to hear it" he says. 

Tweek's twins are beginning to whine now, probably not liking the noise. 

"I hate it too but they'll be okay to wait until they get there" Tweek promises "hey, don't cry" he says to his two.

Craig bites his lip nervously but decides to take Tweek's advice. 

"It's not a long walk is it?" He asks.

"No, only like, a few more minutes" he assures "then we can feed these hungry gremlins." 

Tweek is true to his word, they really are only walking for five minutes longer before they arrive. Tweek takes him straight to the nearest parents room where they can get everything sorted. 

"Last time I was here a worker told me that this feeding room is new, so we're lucky huh?" Tweek says. Craig nods but he's more concerned with making up bottles.

"Mine can hold their own bottles" Tweek says, so I can feed one of yours if you need."

"Really? Are you sure?" Craig asks, feeling flustered.

"Yeah no problem, mine are going through the phase where they like doing it themselves" Tweek explains.

"Well can you feed Daisy? She's not really picky about who feeds her just so long as she's fed?" Craig asks.

"Sure, which is Daisy?" Tweek asks. Craig can't help but laugh.

"Daisy is in purple, Luna in pink."

"Mine are two different genders, babies all look the same at that age" Tweek replies. 

Craig smiles and continues preparing the bottles.

Craig learned to tell his two apart almost as soon as they were born, but he supposes this is parental instinct. His mom still mixes them up. He thinks he'd totally mix up Tweek's twins if they weren't dressed up for their genders. Daisy is a little bigger than Luna, and Luna has a mole behind her ear. Craig is sure there'll be even more differences as they grow. 

Tweek's two are happily drinking their bottles now. Apparently unbothered by Craig's two tiny crying machines.

"Here" he says, handing Tweek a bottle. He realises he doesn't have to show Tweek how to feed her, he already knows. That's kind of nice. 

Tweek happily takes Daisy and she begins eating without complaint. 

"She's food motivated" Tweek says with a laugh. 

"Very much so" Craig replies, taking Luna in his arms and offering her the bottle. She takes a second, but when she fully realises she begins to suck happily. "Do yours need burping?" He asks Tweek.

"Nope" Tweek says proudly, "they stopped recently. I'm so proud considering they were preemies." 

"Aw, good job Ethel and Callum" Craig says "that must be nice though."

"Well, they eat solids too and I think that helps. You just have to listen to your baby, mine guided me" Tweek replies, he looks at Daisy "oh my, she's a big eater isn't she?"

"She is" Craig agrees, "she did well in the NICU."

"That's so good! I can't imagine ten weeks early… I'd die of worry" Tweek admits. 

"I nearly did" Craig replies, "I had to keep going for them, you know?"

"Yeah, I do" Tweek nods "even if my time in the NICU was less, I still know what it's like."

Craig agrees, he wouldn't take back the hard times but it still hurts to think about them.

"I think Daisy is done" Tweek says, "should I burp her?"

"You don't have to" Craig says. 

"I can" Tweek assures him "I'll probably ask you to wrangle one of mine if yours sleep."

"Okay" Craig replies, floored someone would be so willing to help him. He hands Tweek one of the burp rags on his shoulder. "Thank you."

"It's not a problem man" Tweek grins. 

After they've been burped and all four diapers have been changed (an absolute feat if Craig does say so himself) they head over to admissions and enter the aquarium. 

Craig hasn't been since he was small. There's something very relaxing about all the blue light and the subtle ripple of the waters. It's peaceful and Craig sort of wishes he'd come here sooner. 

Tweeks two are excitedly cooing as Tweek shows them some fish swimming by the glass. Craig almost doesn't catch it, but he looks to his own and sees Daisy's eyes follow a fish. She reaches out a small hand and coos.

"Do you like the fishes?" Craig asks, leaning down to their level "show your sister the fishies Daisy."

"Oh look" Tweek says, pointing at a small shark "what a great sharkie!" 

Craig can't believe it, his kids are interested in the fish and their surroundings. They're really growing up. 

"Thanks Tweek" he says happily.

It’s now that Craig wonders what he was so afraid of. He has two healthy, happy babies, two little friends for them and a friend of his own to relate to. Together, the world doesn’t feel too big and scary. There is power in not feeling alone. 

—

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> My tumblr is blesspastacraig if you wanna be friends :)


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